Gradual normalization to start in Turkey as of March

* Source and photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced that the normalization process will gradually begin in the country as of the beginning of March.

"We are starting the gradual normalization process as of the beginning of March by dividing our provinces into four categories in line with criteria established by our health ministry," said Erdoğan yesterday (February 17) after a Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex.

"March will be a month when we will cover a lot of ground in terms of vaccination," added Erdoğan further.

He said that provinces will be categorized as "low", "medium", "high" and "very high-risk" based on infection rates and the vaccination process.

He said some 5.7 million coronavirus vaccines have been administered across the country, adding: "We have made the necessary contacts for acquiring more vaccines that we will need in the first place."

Recalling that the government had announced gradual transition to face-to-face education in schools after last week's Cabinet meeting, he said the process was delayed in some provinces due to heavy snowfall.

The process will continue, he added.

Over 7,300 daily cases, 86 deaths

Turkey on Wednesday reported 7,325 new coronavirus cases, including 649 symptomatic patients, according to the Health Ministry.

The country's case tally passed 2.6 million, while the nationwide death toll reached 27,738, with 86 fatalities over the past day.

On January 14, after the first batch of China's CoronaVac had arrived in the country, Turkey began a mass COVID-vaccination campaign, starting with healthcare workers along with top officials in a stated attempt to encourage public confidence in the vaccines.

Since last December, Turkey has been implementing curfew on weeknights and a full weekend curfew to curb the spread of the virus.

The pandemic has claimed more than 2.42 million lives in 192 countries and regions since December 2019.

Over 109.77 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now more than 61.73 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University. The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of the number of cases. (AÖ/SD)